Most social media platforms are not taking action against anti-Semitic content even when it is flagged by users, according to a new report.

The Center for Countering Digital Hate, a UK and US nonprofit organization, said that over a six-week period earlier this year it used official complaint systems to report hundreds of incidents of anti-Jewish hatred it found on the Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok platforms. However, 84 percent of the time nothing was done about it.

The findings show a “serious and systematic failure to tackle antisemitism,” the Center for Countering Digital Hate said in a statement accompanying its Failure to Protect report, which was released Friday.

“This is not about algorithms or automation; our research shows that social media companies allow bigots to keep their accounts open and their hate to remain online, even when human moderators are notified,” said Imran Ahmed, CEO of the CCDH, in a statement.

Social media platforms must be held accountable and the public that avails themselves of these outlets must be vigilant in reporting and exposing anti-Semitism.

Source:
Top social media platforms fail to act on reported antisemitism, study finds, by Stuart Winer/Times of Israel, August 2, 2021

 

 

The Knesset voted Wednesday afternoon to reject a bill which would apply Israeli sovereignty over parts of Judea and Samaria.

The bill was introduced by Likud MK Mikki Zohar, along with cosponsor MK Shlomo Karhi (Likud).

In the preliminary vote in the Knesset plenum, the bill was rejected, with 50 MKs voting in favor and 64 against.

The Bennett government voted against the bill, ensuring its failure in the plenum. Zohar excoriated the government for voting down the bill, calling the coalition an “evil, left-wing” government, and lambasted it as “opportunistic”.

This bill was expected to get voted down (as we reported last week) for political reasons. The goal was an attempt to embarrass Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s government. We believe that it has embarrassed at least the right wing of the Bennett government. It’s obvious that Sovereignty is not receiving the seriousness it demands and that leaves the Jewish residents in Judea and Samaria in an unacceptable position.

Source:
Bennett government votes down Judea and Samaria sovereignty bill, by Hezki Baruch/Arutz Sheva, July 28, 2021

The state informed the High Court of justice earlier this week that it intends to evacuate two homes in the Eli community in Samaria, where four families live. The announcement is stirring up a storm in the Knesset among the right-wing parties, especially since Eli is a legal town and not an “illegal outpost.”

The state made this commitment as part of its response to a petition by Arab residents of the villages in the area, which was filed in 2011 against about 20 Jewish homeowners. The Blue Line team of the Civil Administration, which more than ten years ago conducted a survey of lands that may be settled in Eli, determined that two homes in the Neot Ilan neighborhood are not within the boundaries of declared state lands. As a result, they also remained outside the locality’s master plan.

Four Jewish families in two homes will be asked to leave some time in 2024. The state representatives who responded to the High Court petition were not sent there by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, but by the Attorney General’s office.

The heads of the Eretz Israel lobby in the Knesset, MKs Orit Struck (Religious Zionism) and Yoav Kish (Likud) issued a response, saying: “The government of 10 degrees to the right this week informed the High Court of its consent to the destruction of the homes of four families in Eli. Instead of preventing the demolition of Jewish homes in Judea and Samaria, this government is busy settling the illegal construction in the Bedouin sector. It represents the complete failure of this government, which freezes construction, violates all its promises of regulating settlements, and now also demolishes Jewish homes.”

Two may be a small number but when it comes to evacuating Jews from their rightful land, this is two too many. It’s mind boggling that the law in Judea and Samaria is still based on the Ottoman land law of 1858. Without Sovereignty applied across Judea and Samaria Jews remain under constant threat of losing their homes. PM Bennett came up with a creative solution to the Evyatar evacuation, and while it’s not what we would have liked to see, Evyatar residents are happy with it. Will Bennett make good on his word to avoid demolishing Jewish homes? We hope so.

Source:
The Next Big Storm: Israel Commits to Demolishing 2 Homes in Jewish Settlement in 3 Years, by David Israel/Jewish Press, July 28, 2021

A new law was proposed Tuesday by U.S. Republicans in the House of Representatives and the Senate that would ban funding for UNRWA unless a string of reforms is carried out.

Senator James Risch (R-ID) and Congressman Chip Roy (R-Tx) gave several reasons for introducing their UNRWA Accountability and Transparency Act. “When UNRWA was created, its specific purpose was to provide relief for refugees of the 1948 Arab-Israeli Conflict. More than 70 years later, the organization has employed individuals affiliated with Hamas, a U.S. designated foreign terrorist organization (FTO), and its schools have been used to promote anti-Semitism and store Hamas weapons.”

“It is unacceptable that U.S. taxpayer dollars are being used to fund this agency, which is why I’ve introduced legislation to cease U.S. contributions to UNRWA unless the administration can certify without a doubt that the agency has no affiliation with U.S. designation FTOs and does not support anti-Semitic rhetoric.

Transparency on where funding to UNRWA goes should have been mandatory from the start and monitored very closely throughout the years. Alas, it was not. We were pleased with Secretary of State Blinken’s recent remarks that the funding should be conditional. AFSI applauds Senator Risch for proposing this desperately needed overdue law. We pray that it will receive full bi-partisan support and pass into law quickly and without delay – and be fully enforced.

Source:
US bill demands reform of UNRWA in return for funding, by Batya Jerenberg/World Israel News, July 28, 2021

Israel attacked Sunday night in the north and south of the Gaza Strip. The reports cited unmanned aerial vehicles that attacked sites used by Hamas, including a compound east of Khan Yunis and another site in northwestern Gaza. The IDF spokesman’s version of the events included fighter jets that attacked a Hamas military camp and infrastructure located near civilian buildings, including a school.

The attack came in retaliation for four fires that had been ignited by incendiary balloons from Gaza in the Israeli Gaza Envelope communities earlier. The fires broke out in the Kissufim forest and the kibbutz’s avocado orchard, after more than a three-week hiatus. JNF firefighters took control of the blaze.

The incendiary balloon attacks are still a form of terrorism and are not in accordance with the recent ceasefire. Israel is within its legal rights to defend itself and protect its Sovereignty.

Source:
IDF Attacks in Gaza in Retaliation for Incendiary Balloon Fires, by David Israel/Jewish Press, July 26, 2021

 

 

The Jerusalem District Court on Sunday harshly criticized the IDF Civil Administration in Judea and Samaria following a petition filed by the Regavim movement against the administration. The petition claimed the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) has failed to enforce the ruling against the illegal Arab takeover of lands outside Kufr al-Dik on the Pedu’el ridge in Samaria – because they have more pressing priorities.

More than a year ago, the Regavim movement petitioned the court regarding five illegal structures built near the community of Pedu’el in Area C in Samaria (under complete Israeli control). Following the petition, the court ordered the Civil Administration to issue work stoppage orders. The orders were indeed posted on the illegal structures but were never carried out and the illegal construction only expanded.

Although the court rejected Regavim’s petition on the grounds that it could not intervene in the Civil Administration’s enforcement considerations, Judge Alexander Ron nevertheless harshly criticized the Civil Administration’s conduct in this matter. Judge Ron said the Civil Administration did not carry out adequate enforcement at the site and issued conflicting allegations throughout the legal process.

Yossi Dagan, head of the Samaria Regional Council, said in response to the court ruling: “With each passing day, the citizens of the State of Israel are losing more and more state lands, the price of which we all pay. The Israeli government must find a solution to make decisions at the political and operational level and stop allowing this deterioration of our sovereignty. The State of Israel must make decisions that will change this reality.”

Source:
Court Rebukes IDF Civil Administration: Doubtful It Took Effective Enforcement Against Illegal Arab Structures, by David Israel/Jewish Press, July 26, 2021

 

While Judea and Samaria stands strong, is Ben & Jerry’s headed for a Rocky Road – or total meltdown?

Ben & Jerry’s announced earlier this week that it would end sales of its ice cream in the “Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT).” Also coming to light is that their original intention was to end sales of their product throughout all of Israel. The despicable action from the owners – two “woke,” JINO Jews – aligns itself with the anti-Semitic, hate-Israel ways of the BDS movement.

Numerous kosher stores, and even Morton Williams, a non-kosher supermarket, are removing Ben & Jerry’s products from their store shelves (Morton Williams will remove about 70%). Calls around the world have also ignited campaigns to revoke Ben & Jerry’s kashruth certifications. The Town of Hempstead, Long Island, announced a move to cut ties and municipal contracts with Ben & Jerry’s and its parent company, Unilever.

Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan said that he has written to 35 United States governors noting that the decision by Ben & Jerry’s violates individual states’ anti-BDS legislation.

Did Ben & Jerry’s take into consideration that not selling their product in the “OPT” will force hundreds of PA Arab workers onto the unemployment line? The very people they take sides with will ultimately be hurt. What’s really behind Ben & Jerry’s move? Eugene Kontorovich, constitutional and international law professor and expert on legal issues in the Israeli-Arab conflict tweeted: “SCOOP (on Ben & Jerry’s): I’ve been told by (a Ben & Jerry’s) insider that company’s board invited Omar Shakir, a professional BDS activist, to advise them, rejected calls to hear experts on other side. This ain’t about the settlements.” Shakir, former Regional Director of Human Rights Watch, was kicked out of Israel in 2019 for being a BDS activist.

Since their announcement, thousands of memes and news reports began circulating like wildfire across social media, blowing up our phones, and flooding our personal inboxes. The decision by Ben & Jerry’s triggered a firestorm of strong reactions from Jews worldwide that work in Israel’s favor.

On the flip side, Avi Zinger, the CEO of Ben & Jerry’s Israel, has been fighting for years against BDS groups and has refused to implement the boycott.

In spite of all of this, the residents of Judea and Samaria are standing strong. Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan issued this statement in Arutz Sheva:

We will not give up Samaria, the ancient kingdom of Israel, for ice cream, nor will we give up Joshua’s Altar or ancient Shilo for a McDonald’s hamburger.

The people of Samaria and this country will stand firm long after Ben & Jerry’s ice cream melts and disappears from the world. We will not give in to this anti-Semitism that permeates Jews in the United States as well.

I call on all residents of the State of Israel and Samaria, and all lovers of Israel in the world, to stop consuming the ice cream that is trying to create a boycott of Israel.

We will not succumb to threats from either left-wing organizations or commercial companies that are willing to boycott Israel in order to flatter certain people. We will continue to build Samaria, enjoy culture, a good education and also ice cream. Not necessarily Ben & Jerry’s.

Who knew that a beloved summer treat could trigger such a strong public response that has united Jews in favor of Israel. If ice cream could drive such a backlash against Ben & Jerry’s, we wonder what it will take to change the worldwide narrative that works day and night to delegitimize Israel.

*** TAKE ACTION ***
Contact Ben & Jerry’s to demand they stop their discriminatory boycott of the 800,000 Jews in eastern Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria.

Ben & Jerry’s Consumer Telephone: (802) 238-4778
Ben & Jerry’s Twitter: @benandjerrys
Contact page with contact forms

Sources:
‘The people of Samaria will stand firm long after Ben & Jerry’s ice cream melts’, by Yossi Dagan/Arutz Sheva, July 21, 2021

Ben & Jerry’s ‘insider’ links company board to activist kicked out of Israel, by Arutz Sheva Staff, July 22, 2021

Ben & Jerry’s boycott ripples through Jewish world, mixed with legal threats, by Faygie Holt and Sean Savage/Jewish News Syndicate, July 20, 2021

Morton Williams cracks down on Ben & Jerry’s over Israel controversy, by Lisa Fickenscher/The New York Post, July 19, 2021

Long Island town takes action against Ben & Jerry’s, by Arutz Sheva Staff, July 22, 2021

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has apparently slowed the approval process for construction projects in Judea and Samaria because of American pressure.

According to an Israel Hayom report today, Bennett has refused to let the Civil Administration Zoning Committee schedule a routine meeting for the approval of construction plans.

Delays in scheduling a meeting have gone on for over a month, the sources said. Those who spoke out on the matter are affiliated with the Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria. They alleged that this amounts to a de facto construction moratorium because no new plans can go forward without the committee’s go-ahead. “This is tantamount to complete capitulation to US dictates,” they said.

We cannot predict what Bennett’s strategy is here or if there is one at all. We do know that caving to pressure from the US is not exercising Israel’s Sovereignty over her legal right to build up Israel’s legally owned land in Judea and Samaria.

Source:
Report: Under pressure from US, Israel imposes de facto building freeze on Judea, Samaria, by Arutz Sheva Staff, July 21, 2021

 

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett appeared to walk back support for the Jewish right to freedom of worship on the Temple Mount Monday, a day after seemingly endorsing a change to long-standing Israeli policy.

On Sunday, the Prime Minister’s Office responded to Arab stone-throwing incidents on and around the Temple Mount and protests against Jewish visits to the holy site, saying that the government would continue to enable Jews to visit the site, protecting their right to “freedom of worship” on the Mount.

But a day later, the Prime Minister’s Office clarified its comments regarding Jewish visits to the Temple Mount, telling Galei Tzahal that the status quo remains in place, and that the government would only ensure the right to Jewish visitation of the Mount – not freedom of religion at the site. Bennett’s office clarified later that he meant “freedom of visit” for Jews and not freedom of worship.

Mansour Abbas, a member of the Islamist Ra’am party in the Knesset and a member of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s coalition, forcefully came out against the some 1,800 Jews who visited the Temple Mount on Sunday to mark the day of Tisha B’Av. “Al-Aqsa Mosque is a pure right of Muslims, and others have no right to it,” Abbas stated in Arabic.

Is Bennett caving to the Ra’am party? We hope not. There is no law against Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount and AFSI is disappointed in Bennett’s about face even though he later issued a clarification. Prayer on the Temple Mount is a sacred right of the Jewish people.

Sources:
Islamist Member of Bennett’s Coalition Says Kotel Belongs to Muslims, by Aryeh Savir/TPS, July 19, 2021

Jewish Prayer on Temple Mount: Bennett walks back Jewish freedom of worship on Temple Mount, by Arutz Sheva Staff, July 19, 2021

Following Foreign Minister Yair Lapid’s announcement on Sunday that a formal request has been made to postpone the evacuation of the Bedouin town of Khan Al Ahmar, the Regavim movement is calling upon Prime Minister Bennett: “Pull yourself together and demonstrate who is really the head of this government. Evacuate Khan al Ahmar today.”

“Did someone say, ‘government of change?’” Regavim said in a statement.

“In all of its recent campaigns, the Yamina Party and Prime Minister Bennett explained that Netanyahu had to be replaced in order to fight the Palestinian Authority’s takeover of Area C, to stop the loss of state land in the Negev to Bedouin squatters, to restore the rule of law to the Galilee, the Negev and Israel’s mixed cities – and yes, to evacuate the illegal outpost known as Khan Al Ahmar.”

“Bennett, it’s time to come to your senses and demonstrate that you are actually Prime Minister. Evacuate Khan Al Ahmar today,” stated Regavim.

Photo courtesy of Regavim

Source:
Regavim to Bennett: Pull yourself together, evacuate Khan Al Ahmar today, by Arutz Sheva Staff, July 19, 2021